Adaptation

Vast new refuge weighed for northern Everglades.

To staunch pollution flows into the headwaters of the Everglades, and to provide habitat for animals forced to adapt to climate change, Obama administration officials are considering designating a new 100,000-acre national wildlife refuge north of Lake Okeechobee. Palm Beach Post 04 Mar

Investors group seeks better climate 'due diligence.'

As climate change regulation gathers steam in Europe, a group of European investors has published a set of guidelines to help private equity firms and their investors incorporate climate change risk into their due diligence. Wall Street Journal 04 Mar

The big dry ahead.

The Department of Water says a report on Western Australia's future water supply presents significant challenges. The report blames climate change since the mid 1970s for a big drop in rainfall and surface and groundwater yields. Sydney ABC News 04 Mar

Perth water supplies could halve by 2030.

A worst-case scenario on Perth's water resources says supplies could dip by nearly 50 per cent in the next 20 years. A CSIRO report has projected a marked decrease in river flows and water yields in WA's South-West by 2030. Australian Associated Press 04 Mar

Disease

A climate storm ... of bugs.

As climatologists weather the IPCC controversy, another storm is brewing, filled not with bloggers but with beasts, bugs and bacteria. Projected changes in the Earth's climate may unleash a potential plague of infectious diseases. Scientific American 04 Mar

Climate change 'has effects on health.'

The high numbers of people who die during the winter months, particularly as a result of respiratory disease and heart failure, may decrease because of global warming, an all-Ireland conference on the health implications of climate change has been told. Dublin Irish Times 26 Feb

Rising temperatures bring threat of malaria deaths.

Ireland can expect a rise in water- and food-borne deaths, particularly among the elderly, because of climate change. Dublin Irish Independent 26 Feb

Minister's plea on climate change.

Farmers in Tanzania are continuing to dig deep into their pockets to buy pesticides to fight crop diseases that are emerging due to climate change, according to Agriculture minister Stephen Wassira. Dar es Salaam Citizen 25 Feb

Other News

Editorials

On a Redwood City development.

Ecologically sensitive salt ponds on the outskirts of Redwood City are the wrong place to build 12,000 new homes at sea level surrounded by levees. In a time of global warming, the Bay Area should be running away from that kind of development, not approving it. San Francisco Chronicle 04 Mar

Don't let nation's snow blind you on climate change.

So let it snow. But let's also unleash far more investment in new energy sources. Washingtonians getting stuck in snowbanks shouldn't have to mean everyone else has to get stuck in the status quo. Detroit Free Press 20 Feb

It's still a threat.

We must - individually and collectively - become more energy efficient while simultaneously supporting development of renewable energy sources that will sustain, not destroy, Earth. Miami Herald 20 Feb

Validation required.

Transparency and quality control are essential in the highly uncertain business of assessing the impact of climate change on a regional scale. It is intrinsic to this research, after all, that scientists' best judgments will be subject to change. Nature 18 Feb

A complicated argument.

If the Maldives and lower Manhattan are destined to go under water, we won’t be able to avert that outcome with a Copenhagen greenhouse gas policy. When and if such threats become real, we’ll be obliged to take protective action for the particular problems at hand. Columbia Tribune 17 Feb

Climate change: Snow won't slow warming.

Whatever doubts there may be about the credibility of climate claims, they are not an excuse to act irresponsibly. Lakeland Ledger 10 Feb

Climate resolution a lot of hot air.

We note another time-waster in the Utah Legislature with the House's passage of House Joint Resolution 12, which purports to smack down so-called climate alarmists for their inability to connect global warming with the current downturn in global temperatures. Ogden Standard-Examiner 10 Feb

Climate debate needs facts, not anecdotes.

Mountaineers may be the only people in a position to notice alpine ice levels, but their impressions fall some way short of scientific evidence. Auckland New Zealand Herald 04 Feb

Opinion

Lake Turkana ecosystem: Development for ecology?

Lake Turkana is the world’s largest desert lake. The lake's location in a fragile environment makes it particularly prone to climate change. A more immediate threat though is the latest hydroelectric dam on the lake’s permanent inflow, the Gibe III. Nairobi East African 09 Mar

The global crisis of water scarcity.

In recent years, climate change seems to have elbowed out other environmental issues to become the number one global problem. Ceylon Daily News 09 Mar

Today's students face tomorrow's climate problems.

Today's students will inherit a world that has been dramatically changed by the choices their parents' and grandparents' generations have made. At the top of the list of challenges they will face is a changed climate. Melbourne Age 08 Mar

Studies explore how changing climate impacts birds.

As the days get warmer, many of us start migrating from our homes to our backyards and other outdoor areas. Migrating birds are also on the move – like us, spurred to change their behavior by warmer temperatures. Lakeport Lake County News 07 Mar

The heat over bubbling Arctic methane.

One of the great challenges in assessing the meaning of changes in Arctic climate and other environmental conditions is putting today’s observations in long-term context. New York Times 06 Mar

Snow is sign of warming.

While you have all doubtless heard someone snarkily say during the Eastern blizzard bonanza, “Well, how about that for global warming?,” it is the severity of these winter storms that is much more indicative of climate change than an occasional mild winter in the Northwest where all eyes are tuned into the Olympics. Fall River Herald News 06 Mar

Global warming and cooling now revealed in different lights.

The Arctic seems to be the fastest warming part of the world. Falling levels of cooling aerosols and rising levels of carbon black seem to be at least as responsible as rising levels of greenhouse gases for warming in the Arctic. Dublin Irish Times 04 Mar

Mount Elgon landslides a result of climate change.

Climate change will continue to leave severe damages on communities least prepared to adapt, like the villages leveled in the massive landslide on the slopes of Mount Elgon Monday night. How prepared are we when these disasters strike? Kampala Daily Monitor 04 Mar

Int´l scientists to launch environmental studies on "Third Pole".

International scientists are preparing to launch a joint study on the environment of the "Third Pole" region centered on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, a Chinese scientist said Monday. Xinhua News Agency 09 Mar

Women hit by climate change to lobby Capitol Hill.

Women hit hard by the effects of climate change -- drought, floods, sea level rise and crop failure -- gathered on Monday to plan a Capitol Hill push for U.S. legislation to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Reuters 09 Mar

Shellfish could supplant tree-ring climate data.

Oxygen isotopes in clamshells may provide the most detailed record yet of global climate change, according to a team of scientists who studied a haul of ancient Icelandic molluscs. Nature 09 Mar

Humans driving extinction faster than species can evolve, say experts.

For the first time since the dinosaurs disappeared, humans are driving animals and plants to extinction faster than new species can evolve, thanks to habitat destruction and climate change, one of the world's experts on biodiversity warns. London Guardian 08 Mar

Group urges localities to plan together for rising sea levels.

As a regional planner, John Carlock knows getting each Hampton Roads community to agree is rarely, if ever, simple. His next task could be even harder: Convince 16 cities and counties to work together to combat rising sea levels. Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot 08 Mar

Climate change could spark crises 'in Arab world.'

There may be a considerable increase in the number of crises and disasters in the Arab world due to climate change, and this could necessitate the distribution of food, water and medicine to millions of people, a top OIC official said. Doha Gulf Times 08 Mar

Growing low-oxygen zones in oceans worry scientists.

Shelby PDX/flickr

Lower levels of oxygen in the Earth's oceans, particularly off the Pacific Northwest coast, could be another sign of fundamental changes linked to global climate change, scientists say. McClatchy Newspapers 07 Mar

Climate change is changing farming methods.

Communities have tried their best to devise resourceful ways to cope with and adapt to the adverse impacts of extreme weather events. Inter Press Service 07 Mar

States at sea over coastal levels.

Australia's six state governments have four different figures for predicted sea-level rise caused by climate change, leaving developers and councils confused and sparking calls for a federal takeover of coastal climate change planning. Sydney Australian 07 Mar

Cars homes drinking water 'under threat.'

The availability of fresh drinking water in the Bahamas could be jeopardised by climate change and hurricanes, warned State Environment Minister Phenton Neymour, who said this country urgently needs proper water networks and management policies. Nassau Tribune 07 Mar

California looks to Australia for lessons on water management.

A delegation of California water leaders recently visited Australia to learn lessons on water management in the face of drought and climate change. Pasadena Star-News 07 Mar

Regional rainfall in a warming world.

noii/flickr

Apart from the obvious warming at the high polar latitudes, which already is affecting Arctic sea ice and the rate of Greenland ice cap melting, new details are beginning to emerge about the impact of global warming in the Tropics - the boiler-room of Earth's climate and weather. Discovery Channel 06 Mar

Africa: facing extreme weather head on, Ibrahim Forum urges action.

Although Africa has contributed little to global warming, the continent and other parts of the developing world are bearing the brunt of the resultant climate change, according to scientists and development specialists. All Africa 06 Mar

But we're warming to current idea.

Warmer oceans, balmy evenings and high humidity have led to what meteorologists have described as ''remarkably tropical'' conditions. Sydney Morning Herald 06 Mar

Polar explorer to take on new challenge.

A Scottish explorer who was part of the first British team to walk unsupported to the North Pole is to take on a new challenge helping scientists gauge the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the Arctic Ocean. Edinburgh Scotsman 06 Mar

Warming data said stronger than IPCC claim.

Evidence of manmade global warming is stronger than the besieged U.N. climate panel claimed, with rainfall changes altering the Earth, British scientists said. United Press International 06 Mar

Global warming could be increased by unexpectedly large methane release in Arctic.

Methane, a potent global warming gas, is bubbling out of the frozen Arctic faster than had been expected. Associated Press 06 Mar

Methane seeps rise from Siberian sea shelves.

A new paper in the journal Science reveals that parts of the East Siberian continental shelf, which extends up to 1000 miles out into Arctic waters, show concentrations of methane in surface waters that are 100 times higher than expected. Los Angeles Times 06 Mar

Arctic shelf leaking potent greenhouse gas.

The frozen cap trapping billions of tonnes of methane under the cold waters of the Arctic Ocean is leaking and venting the powerful greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, new research shows. Inter Press Service 06 Mar

More warming worries: Methane from the Arctic.

If the undersea permafrost really is destabilizing rapidly, it could in principle lead to a catastrophic burp that would release a massive amount of methane in a short time. Time Magazine 06 Mar

White House lays out plans for Gulf Coast renewal.

The Obama administration on Thursday laid out a plan to deal with the catastrophic dangers of rising sea levels, hurricanes and erosion on the Gulf Coast, and backed efforts to invest in restoring barriers islands and wetlands in Mississippi and Louisiana. Associated Press 05 Mar

The thirsty Caribbean.

Caribbean countries are considering options like desalination plants and cloud seeding to confront a drought that threatens the regional economy and which experts warned about years ago. Inter Press Service 05 Mar

Florida Keys residents confront rising sea levels.

Waters around the Florida Keys are nine inches higher than a century ago. Efforts to battle rising sea levels make the Keys 'a canary in the coal mine,' an indicator of what other areas might need to prepare for. Christian Science Monitor 05 Mar

Arctic melt to cost up to $24 trillion by 2050: Report.

Arctic ice melting could cost global agriculture, real estate and insurance anywhere from $2.4 trillion to $24 trillion by 2050 in damage from rising sea levels, floods and heat waves, according to a report released on Friday. Reuters 05 Mar

Polar bear fossil traces origin to brown bears.

A scientific analysis of a rare polar bear fossil indicates that the large, white-coated mammals' ancestors migrated toward the North Pole in response to global warming thousands of years ago, and adapted quickly to their new Arctic habitat. Voice of America 05 Mar

Saving sea turtles, one nest at a time.

Global warming and coastal development are decimating Pacific sea turtle populations. In Costa Rica, a group of one-time poachers is giving baby sea turtles a chance at survival. New York Times 05 Mar

Undersea Arctic methane could wreak havoc on climate.

Research released Thursday finds that underground methane, which could wreak havoc with the world's climate, appears to be seeping through the Arctic Ocean floor and into the Earth's atmosphere, thanks to a weakening of the protective layer of permafrost at the bottom of the ocean. USA Today 05 Mar

Scientists find methane source in Arctic seas.

Scientists studying global warming in the Arctic have discovered a previously unknown source of methane working its way into the atmosphere, a source that is releasing large amounts of the gas each year. Christian Science Monitor 05 Mar